Monday, September 26, 2011

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

What do you see? a dessert? maybe. A counter? Yep. What do I see? A CLEARED OFF counter. For anyone who has been in our house, you know what I am saying. We didn't think to take a before picture, but the before picture would have let you see one of our family's downfall. This counter normally is the catch all area of our kitchen. Everyone has one. Most are able to control it. Not us. Papers, newspaper ads, pens, pencils, jewelry, school assignments, tools, diapers (new, not used), empty water bottles, half full water bottles, dog tags, notes, computer wires, earphones, note cards, notes from us, Ensign, crayons, pictures, dryer sheets, toys, things we don't want Payton to get, baking dishes, marbles, silverware...you get the idea. The miracle I speak of is not just the fact that it is cleared off, but how it got that way. thanks to my wonderful wife, and her simple but brilliant idea. Last night was Family Home Evening. But last week, we forgot to assign the different parts. So, when it was time , no one had a lesson planned. In the past, we would be tempted to just skip it. But we are trying to get better at it, and Tasha has tried hard to get us to do it. So, Helena came up with: "Since we do not have a lesson, we are going to have an activity. Tonight, as we sing songs as we work, we are going to clean off the counter." WE ALL GROANED. This is no easy task. But we did it. Singing renditions of the ABC song, Bah Bah Black Sheep, and Twinkle Twinkle, and of course, I Am a Child of God (we all can sing that one), we went to work. Pile after pile disappeared. The mountain became a mole hill. And finally, a CLEAR COUNTER! We quickly wiped it down, then polished it. next was the moment of silence and the wiping away of tears. WE DID IT! We have our counter back. All thanks to a miracle of an idea. How simple. My wife is the best. Our family rocks!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

It's no secret right now that the driving force that gets us to partake in FHE is Tasha. That child is relentless. She reviews with us no later than Sunday every one's responsibilities to make sure we all do our part. Is it odd that your 7 year old in a authoritative voice,"Dad, this week you have the lesson." Really? How awful am I when your child takes over that responsibility and insists that she conduct the meeting as well. At least, we are doing it, right?

Last night, Tasha was all over it. "Dad, don't forget you lesson!" When the time came, she shyly asked if I had prepared a lesson tonight. I do believe she expected me to say no. To her delight, I had it it was game on, literally. Kyra handled the opening prayer (it was Payton's turn, but he was sidetracked in the other room by Buzz), Mon had been assigned the music (song), and then I was up. At this point, I am sure Tasha, as well as the rest of my family, still had doubts. But alas, I had the lesson. Based on Charity, it was the story of the Three Marbles. It was a nice reminder of what we need to do. Then came the game. It was a new game called Left Center Right. It is a face paced dice game for all ages that know the difference between left, right, and center. We in little time, played the game 4 times! We all had fun and laughed lots. Tasha, who brought her competitive side with her to the game, got a little discouraged that mom won the 1st 2 games and dad won the last 2. This is purely a game of chance, no skill whatsoever. But in the end, she was happy and had lots of fun. Even Payton had managed to ditch Buzz and join us. Tasha gave the closing prayer and remembered to bless the treats (OK, with a little reminder form her older sister). Does anyone else have issues with asking that peanut butter cookies strengthen and nourish our bodies? Great FHE! Thank you to the 7 year old!

About Me

I should probably start with explaining the "Bill the Great". It was a nickname I aquired at and old job. I had not really thought of it in a long time until I was pondering a blog site name. It is not anything that I take seriously, so please, take it lightly! I grew up in Scottsdale and have lived my entire life in Arizona. I have been married for 16 years and have four children, Billy, Kyra, Tasha, and Payton.